Page 37 of Desired By the Dragon

Frowning, I tried to gauge whether she’d let me ask her questions. “Oh?”

She shrugged. “My ex was flakey, to say the least.”

“He didn’t take care of you?”

A snort left her. “I don’t need taking care of, but no.”

I folded my arms across my bare chest and leaned against the bed frame. “No, but sometimes it’s just a nice thing to do. It doesn’t make you incompetent.”

Kiernan looked away, re-tying her hair with the scrunchie I’d left in the bathroom for her so she didn’t have to get it wet in the shower unless it was what she wanted. “I think he might be following me,” she blurted and I fell still. “Never mind, I’m probably just overreacting.” She laughed nervously and I let her finish before I spoke, making sure to keep my tone level.

“What made you think he might be following you?”

She hesitated, clearly deciding how much she wanted to tell me. “Can I borrow a t-shirt or something?” I nodded and strolled to the bureau, pulling out a plain white tee and handing it over. She sighed and let her towel drop, slipping my shirt on over her head. It hit her knees and I struggled to keep breathing. Seeing her in my clothes was hard enough, but she also looked fucking adorable. I was surprised when she continued on. “You know the robberies they’ve been talking about in town? That’s kind of his thing. My ex, I mean. Things didn’t end well between us.” I waited her out, giving her space, and she winced. “He and his gang framed me, badly, for a robbery he committed, and when I got out of jail,” she glanced at my face and then carried on, “I went to his place and ah, set his bike on fire. And destroyed the loot.”

I nodded slowly, absorbing what she’d said and what she hadn’t. This asshole had betrayed her, likely deepening that chip on her shoulder that kept me at arms-length. “That’s fucked up.” Her face tightened and I pretended not to notice as I continued, “I can’t believe he did that to you.” It was the truth. Imagine being dumb enough to fumble Kiernan? I kept a tight grip on my breathing, in and out, slow, measured, trying not to focus on everything she’d said too much because otherwise I was going to flip out and hunt this guy down — and the last thing she needed right now was to be spending her energy on relaxing me. “So you think these robberies near town are him?”

Her dark eyes watched me, not missing a thing as she nodded. “Banks and jewelers, that was his preferred targets. And at every crime scene, there was always one guy beat up.” She rolled her eyes. “Dominance thing.”

Jeez, what had she seen in this guy?

Like she read the question straight off my face, Kiernan narrowed her eyes. “I didn’t know he was a massive shithead when I met him and by the time I realized… Well, it was too late.” She had loved him. Irrational jealousy brought my dragon to the surface and I turned away to hide the way my scales were breaking through my skin again. There was nothing casual about this kind of jealousy — but then again, she’d been jealous of me dancing with Ana, who was gay and very happily married. So maybe all this, what I’d been feeling, wasn’t one-sided after all.

I sat down on the edge of the bed and then flopped back with a sigh, sensing rather than seeing her come closer. My hands snagged her waist and I pulled her down with me, chuckling at her squeal of surprise. I’d peeled the covers back, ready for us to climb in, so it was easy to reach down and grab them, tucking us in.

If I didn’t ask her to stay, then she didn’t have to turn me down. Instead, I was just going to make her as cozy and safe as possible and hope she decided to stay all on her own.

“Do you think I’m overreacting?” she whispered and I turned to face the side of the bed that I now thought of as hers. The firelight played across her skin, making her eyes gleam amber as I scrutinized her.

“If you think he’s following you, then I believe you.” Instantly, she relaxed, eyes fluttering closed like my acceptance had eased a weight on her. “But I don’t want you to give this asshole another thought, okay? If he comes near you, he’ll regret it.” Her eyes opened and she watched me with a doe-eyed innocence that made me feel as if I’d been given something fragile to guard. “And I know you can take care of yourself but…”

“Sometimes it’s nice to be taken care of,” she murmured and I smiled.

“Exactly.” Not wanting to scare her off, I rolled so I was flat on my back and said, “Thank you for telling me.” Quieter, I added, “I’ll keep you safe. Always.”

After all, dragons always looked after their treasure.

* * *

Warmth and a tickling sensation woke me up the following morning, and I blinked sleepily before brushing red hair out of my face where it had been tickling my nose. Kiernan was still sleeping peacefully, and I smiled, making my jaw crack. Well, if it didn’t ache the next day you hadn’t done it right.

She’d stayed.

The fire had died in the night and sunlight streamed in through the window in the space where the curtains didn’t quite meet. I massaged my jaw and squinted as I had a look outside, pleased to see blue skies even if a few of the grey clouds looked a little ominous.

Something seemed off, like I was forgetting something, and I frowned blearily at the sun before settling back in bed. Kiernan mumbled something and threw a leg over mine, making my heart squeeze.

My eyes popped open.

The sun. Why was it so low in the sky?

I fumbled for my phone on the bedside table and mouthed a curse when I saw the time.

Every year after the fundraising gala, the dean put on a breakfast the following morning to thank faculty members. It was mainly another way of schmoozing, but this time we were schmoozing for department budgets, trips… tenure.

I slid a leg out of bed and then paused, hesitating as the sun bounced off of me and warmed Kiernan’s face.

She’d stayed. She’d stayed. She’d stayed.